Australia's share market has fallen to a seven-week low, as the ongoing conflict in Iran bolsters oil prices and inflation fears darken the global economic outlook.
Australia's share market has fallen for four of the past five weeks, following a storm of profit warnings, earnings disappointments, interest rate hikes and fuel security woes.
US stocks have advanced, lifted by a rally in tech stocks as investors absorbed generally solid economic data and watched for developments from Beijing where US President Trump was engaged in a high-stakes meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Australia's share market has broken a four-session losing streak, albeit unconvincingly, after a rebound in banks and continued strength in major miners tipped the bourse into positive territory.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have gained ground with a boost from artificial intelligence-related tech shares, which helped markets look past hotter-than-expected inflation data.
Lingering conflict in the Middle East could cause Australia's economy to contract and unemployment to spike to pre-pandemic levels, Treasury warns in the nation's fiscal blueprint.
Regional voters turning to One Nation believe the party is the only one "fighting" for them, coalition politicians say, as the conservative alliance continues to reel from losing a key seat in a by-election.
US stocks have closed slightly higher, with AI optimism fuelling upward momentum even as the earnings-driven fervour of the recent rally eased in the home stretch of reporting season.
The local share market has slipped after the US rejected Iran's latest peace proposal to end the Middle East war, and as a huge plunge by a prominent biotech name weighed on the bourse.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record highs on Friday, boosted by gains in Nvidia, Sandisk and other AI-related stocks, while a stronger-than-expected jobs report pointed to labour market resilience.
About $43 billion has been wiped from Australia's share market, as oil prices surged after fighting between the US and Iran loomed over hopes of a peace deal.
The S&P 500 has ended lower, with Intel and other chip stocks retreating after a recent rally while uncertainty around US-Iran peace talks weighed on the wider market.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have notched record high closes, lifted by Intel and other AI-related stocks, as a US-Iran ceasefire held firm and investors focused on strong quarterly earnings.
